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MAPLE SHADE – Police are investigating an animal cruelty case after a local family says their beloved poodle was shot in the head.

The dog, Toby, was humanely euthanized.

On Tuesday evening, Toby was found badly injured and the owners initially thought he had been hit by a car. But once he was taken to the veterinarian, the family says they were contacted and told his X-rays looked suspicious and that he had a bullet or part of a bullet lodged in his head.

Toby Cook, a poodle shown in this photo, was found with an apparent bullet wound to his head on Tuesday in Maple Shade. The beloved family pet had to be humanely euthanized. Police have launched an animal cruelty investigation.(Photo: Photo provided)

Marissa Cook said her grandparent’s dog Toby, a small, white 9-year-old Pomeranian poodle, would regularly get out of the family yard and wander around the neighborhood. But she said he was friendly and harmless and was well known in the area. He got out on Tuesday about dinnertime, and was found later that day after the family was alerted by a neighbor that the dog was whining and crying a short distance from the family home.

“They rushed him to the ER when they found him because he was still alive,” Marissa Cook said. “My grandparents believed that he was hit by a car. Yesterday morning is when they got a call from the veterinarian that said 'we found in his X-ray it was a bullet, you’re dog was shot.' They kind of just let us know. They said 'we have to contact the police.' The police ordered a full autopsy yesterday. That’s why now it’s an official investigation.

“They said it could be a fragment. But they basically said it is from a gun. They said it was from a .22-caliber when we got the initial report. We’re heartbroken. My grandparents are the sweetest people. Everyone knows Toby in the community. We just don’t understand why it happened.”

Maple Shade Police Chief Christopher J. Fletcher announced the animal cruelty investigation on Thursday morning, saying the family reported the incident to police on Wednesday afternoon.

“The initial examination by the veterinarian revealed an injury to Toby’s head and the presence of an object lodged in his head. Toby was humanely euthanized on (Wednesday). The Maple Shade Police Department immediately launched an investigation upon receiving the initial report and canvassed the neighborhood for information."

The release said the Municipal Humane Law Enforcement Officers of the Maple Shade Police Department are continuing the investigation into this cruelty case in conjunction with assistance from the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Chief Fletcher’s position on this investigation is clear, the Maple Shade Police Department will not tolerate cruelty to animals. The Maple Shade Police Department and our certified Humane Law Enforcement Officers will work closely with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and bring to justice anyone that does kill or injure an animal in Maple Shade.”

Marissa Cook said her grandfather Robert Cook is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD and depression and Toby was sort of a therapy dog for him and was his best friend. Her grandmother Kathleen is distraught as well about the incident.

“Right now it was somewhat confirmed that it happened on Fifth avenue,” said Cook, who resides in Marlton. “There was a witness that spoke out and said they heard the pop and they found him shortly after.”

Cook posted about the incident on Facebook and begged for the public’s assistance in finding the perpetrator of this alleged crime.

“We’re scared it will happen to someone else,” she said. “Catching this person doesn’t bring Toby back, but at least we can stop it from happening to someone else.”

If you have any information please call 856-234-8300 and reference case 2019-16928.

Celeste E. Whittaker is a metro reporter for the Courier Post. The South Jersey native has worked at the Courier Post since 1998 and has covered the Philadelphia 76ers, college sports and girls high school sports. She now covers human interest stories and other news throughout Burlington County. If you have a news tip, call her at 856.486.2437 or email atcwhittaker@gannettnj.com. Follow her on Twitter at @cp_CWhittaker.